French President Emmanuel Macron has vigorously defended himself and his wife, Brigitte Macron. He responded to the fraudulent allegations associated with a growing trend of viral videos flooding social media platforms. Macron says that the stories about the videos are rooted in disinformation. He argues that these incidental clips, which mostly feature the couple in charming banter, have been blown out of proportion.
The outrage started when three shocking videos of Emmanuel Macron went viral on the Internet in the span of a month’s time. In these snippets, he displays his cheeky side, flirting and joking with his wife, Brigitte. Since their wedding in 2007, she’s never left his side. Their international romance Mr. Macron met his wife when he was a student at the high school where Brigitte was teaching.
In a recent statement, Macron emphasized the authenticity of the footage, saying, “In these three videos, I took a tissue, shook someone’s hand and just joked with my wife, as we do quite often. Nothing more.” He told her friends that the couple was just “decompressing one last time” before they left for a months-long trip to Southeast Asia.
Even with these clarifications, he expressed concern about the cherry-picked, misinformative interpretations circulating on social media. For these reasons, Macron rightfully labeled the creators of these narratives as “crackpots.” He demystified an encounter he had with Brigitte on an airplane, an occurrence that his office at first dismissed as farfetched. During that crisis, Macron’s office had gone so far as to imply that the photos could have been altered with artificial intelligence.
Macron harped on the disinformation theme, claiming that these manipulations can all be traced back to networks that are organized and connected. He ominously singled out “the Russians” and “the extremists in France” as important actors in these efforts. This assertion rings true with current circumstances as France continues to grapple with rising disinformation campaigns amid Russia’s ramped-up war efforts in Ukraine.
The situation escalated further when Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, promoted false claims regarding Macron’s character, including allegations of drug use. These unfounded accusations went further to incite the fury of the disinformation campaigns against the French president.
In making these comments, Macron highlighted a wider trend of warped, UIT public representations. In particular, he cited images from his own overnight train trip to get to Kyiv. He called on the press to be vigilant, protect themselves and prevent these lies. They need to guarantee the integrity of political figures and honest public perception.
As he addressed these challenges, Macron maintained a tone of resolve, indicating that he and Brigitte are not deterred by such trivialities. “We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” he stated, reinforcing the notion that their personal interactions should not be subject to public scrutiny or manipulation.
